County Council President ElíasBendodo considers this is very important for the County Council, and claims that people from Málaga and other towns who participated in the project deserve all the credit.

The Cabinet Office granted a prize to El Caminito del Rey for Emerging Tourist Destination on 11th December 2015. This award, which was approved by the Ministry of Industry, Energy and Tourism, was given to the most ambitious project that has recentlybeen undertaken by the Málaga County Council.

The Spanish Government awards those public institutions which have stood out because of its support to tourism, have offered outstanding travel services or had positive outcome at international forums.

County Council president ElíasBendodo was satisfied with this news, as he said: ‘we are greatly honoured and pleased to have been granted this prize by the Government of Spain. This is a very important award for the Málaga County Council’. Moreover he said: ‘people from Málaga, as well as those from other towns who participated in this project, deserve the credit’.

He added:“El Caminito del Rey brought a lot of enthusiasm not only to Málaga but also to the rest of Spain and abroad”.The government pointed out that the path evolved from an access way for the hydroelectric power station workers to the one that was used by the families from Gaitanejo. Actually, state institutions from the county took in consideration the demands of the mayors from the area and developed the refurbishing plan of this path in order to include it in their tourism supply.

In addition, the County Council President underlined that the surrounding hotels tripled their incomes and doubled job posts thanks to 160,000 visitors the path had received during the first six months.

Booking portal for January and February was opened today

The County Council President declared that El Caminito del Rey had been awarded on the same day when the booking portal for January and February 2016 got opened.

Furthermore, he mentioned that the path had been established as a national and international landmark, ‘similarly to Marbella and the Province of Málaga’. He considers that ‘the more sights we include in the Costa del Sol tourism supply, the more tourists will come.’ ‘We are leaders in sun, beach and golf tourism supply, and we want to be so in active tourism. El Caminitodel Rey is a good way to attract the visitors’, the County Council President concluded.

The Centre of Tourists´ Attention

Since it was opened on 28th March 2015, little by little, El Caminito del Rey has become a centre of tourists´ attention in the inland part of the province, and one of the greatest landmarks, together with the Great Path and the Coastal Path. Tourists from all over the world have booked their tickets and came to this spot. TV stations from foreign countries, such as Russia, Japan, Finland and Brazil, reported about this place, and more than 90 broadcasting corporations from all over the world got interested in this beauty spot and helped spreading the information about it.

To date, the County Council itself has invested € 5.5 m in building the path and improving the access roads.

New model of management and the second phase

The management board of El Caminito del Rey has recently agreed about the new model of this spot’s management. It is to be executed next spring, and it will establish the maximum number of visitors a day, which could be 1,100, as well as the tickets price that should go from seven to ten euros per person. The takings are to be invested in the path maintenance.

Moreover, the second phase of works on the path in 2016wasannounced. The investment of € 1.2m is allocated to the reception points and improvements of the trail.